Six Miles to Charleston: The True Story of John and Lavinia Fisher (Murder & Mayhem)

Six Miles to Charleston recounts the true story of John and Lavinia Fisher, a husband-and-wife team who committed murders in Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 19th century. Lavinia Fisher is identified as America's first female serial killer. On February 18th, 1820, both were executed before approximately two thousand South Carolinians. Local historian and former homicide investigator Bruce Orr documents their case from investigation through execution. The account begins when a young man escaped the Fishers in 1819 and reported them to authorities, triggering a police raid on their Six Mile Inn. Orr traces the subsequent capture, incarceration, and final moments of the couple. Orr also explores unresolved questions surrounding the case. Evidence including an overzealous sheriff, corrupt officials, and recently discovered documents suggests additional crimes may have gone unpunished. The Fishers have become the subject of local legend, with accounts ranging from factual to fantastical, and reports of Lavinia's ghost haunting the Old Charleston Jail House persist to the present day.